Nina Sterckx

Nina Sterckx (born 26 July 2002) is a Belgian weightlifter. She is a five-time medalist at the European Weightlifting Championships and achieved 5th place representing Belgium at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. She also represented Belgium at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.

In 2019, Sterckx won the gold medal in the women's junior 49kg event at the European Junior & U23 Weightlifting Championships in Bucharest, Romania.

Career

Sterckx won the silver medal in the under-15 girls 48kg event at the 2017 European Youth Weightlifting Championships held in Pristina, Kosovo. She won the bronze medal in the under-17 girls 53kg event at the 2018 European Youth Weightlifting Championships held in San Donato Milanese, Italy.

Both in 2018 and 2019, Sterckx competed in the women's 55kg event at the World Weightlifting Championships. In 2018, she also competed in the women's 53kg event at the European Weightlifting Championships held in Bucharest, Romania. In 2019, she finished in 8th place at the European Weightlifting Championships held in Batumi, Georgia.

In April 2021, Sterckx won the bronze medal in the women's 55kg event at the European Weightlifting Championships held in Moscow, Russia. In May 2021, she won the silver medal in her event at the Junior World Weightlifting Championships held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

She won the silver medal in the women's 55kg event at the 2021 Junior World Weightlifting Championships held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. In July 2021, Sterckx represented Belgium at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Her goal was to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France but her result at the Junior World Weightlifting Championships, limits on the number of athletes per NOC and doping violations of other countries meant that she ranked 8th in the 49 kg weight class, allowing her to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics. Sterckx finished in 5th place in the women's 49kg event. She lifted 81kg in the Snatch, 99kg in the Clean & Jerk and she set a new Belgian record of 180kg in total.

Sterckx won the gold medal in the women's 55kg event at the 2022 Junior World Weightlifting Championships held in Heraklion, Greece. It was the first time a weightlifter representing Belgium became junior world champion. She also won the bronze medals in the Snatch and Clean & Jerk events with lifts of 94 kg and 111 kg respectively.

Sterckx won the gold medal in her event at the 2022 European Junior & U23 Weightlifting Championships held in Durrës, Albania. She also set new junior world records in the Clean & Jerk (118kg) and in total (213kg). In preparation for the 2024 Summer Olympics, which only features the women's 49kg and 59kg weight classes, she decided to move down from the 55kg to the 49kg weight class in this competition. Sterckx finished in 6th place in the women's 49kg event at the 2022 World Weightlifting Championships held in Bogotá, Colombia.

Sterckx won the silver medal in the women's 59kg event at the 2023 European Weightlifting Championships held in Yerevan, Armenia. She also won the silver medals in the Snatch and Clean & Jerk events. In April 2023, she stated that she would decide on competing in the 49kg or 59kg weight class at the 2024 Summer Olympics after the Olympic qualification period. She competed in the women's 59kg event at the 2023 World Weightlifting Championships held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

In February 2024, Sterckx competed in the women's 59kg event at the European Weightlifting Championships held in Sofia, Bulgaria. She won the silver medal in the Snatch event and she was unable to complete a Clean & Jerk. She failed three attempts to lift 86kg in the Snatch and she did not compete in the Clean & Jerk.

Achievements

Year Venue Weight Snatch (kg) Clean & Jerk (kg) Total Rank 1 2 3 Rank 1 2 3 Rank Summer Olympics 2021 Tokyo, Japan 49 kg 81 81 84 99 101 101 180 5 2024 Paris, France 49 kg 86 86 86 — — — — World Championships 2018 Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 55 kg 75 78 81 23 94 98 101 25 182 24 2019 Pattaya, Thailand 55 kg 80 83 85 15 99 102 102 21 187 18 2022 Bogotá, Colombia 49 kg 85 88 89 4 104 109 109 7 193 6 2023 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 59 kg 95 97 99 8 117 121 123 12 220 9IWF World Cup 2024 Phuket, Thailand 59 kg 96 100 102 9 111 116 121 15 216 13 European Championships 2018 Bucharest, Romania 53 kg 70 73 75 12 88 91 94 10 164 12 2019 Batumi, Georgia 55 kg 77 80 82 6 96 100 101 8 183 8 2021 Moscow, Russia 55 kg 87 87 88 5 103 108 109 4 197 2022 Tirana, Albania 55 kg 90 93 94 109 109 111 205 2023 Yerevan, Armenia 59 kg 93 96 97 113 116 120 209 2024 Sofia, Bulgaria 59 kg 98 101 103 117 118 122 — — — 2025 Chișinău, Moldova 59 kg 94 97 97 113 117 120 207 2026 Batumi, Georgia 53 kg 88 91 94 107 112 116 210